…and no action
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo made what might seem to be an obvious point about Granger and his PNC outfit at the PPP’s meeting in Alexander Village, Georgetown: they just can’t translate their plans into reality. They had a manifesto chock-full of plans for Guyana, didn’t they?? They even had a “strategy” for development – the Green State Development Strategy. But did they go beyond painting everything that didn’t move, green?!!
But behind Jagdeo’s simple statement of fact lies a profound assessment of the politicians in the PNC and other parties of their ilk. These are people who are most perceptive and perspicacious observers of our Caribbean scene dubbed, “Mimic Men”!! Old codgers like Granger would’ve observed from the outside how they thought the British ruled Guyana: dining at the Georgetown Club after they had Public Servants draw up all sorts of elaborate plans to implement policies, formulated in London. And that’s how they conceive of “governing”!!
They would’ve never gone out into the field to observe what it took to actually put those plans into effect – effort, hard work and dedication. So what they and their younger protégés do is read books and stuff their heads full of ponderous theory about “WHAT IS TO BE DONE!”. Like their manifestos, these all sound good on paper – but sadly that’s the end of it. The few concrete accomplishments (no pun intended) – CJIA expansion, the East and West Coast Demerara Highways and the Mandela-Sherriff bypass are all inherited from the PPP – funding and contractors!! And even those they managed to screw up with poor monitoring, or graft, or both!!
Granger and crew like to sit in their air-conditioned offices and press buttons, expecting things will get done at the other end. And now their only cry is “Give David more time”!! In five years, apart from handouts to their “constituency”, what exactly have they accomplished from their manifesto?? Their handling of the oil contract is a perfect example of the “mimic men” syndrome. Reading in some book that lawyers handle contract negotiations, and Trotman was a “lawyer”, they sent him in to face the battery of Exxon’s lawyers in Houston!! Of course, they chewed him up and spit him out!
A lot of people were fooled by the fancy jargon Granger and his myrmidons spewed on the campaign trail in 2015. But this time, as the old people say, folks know the difference between “moutar and guitar”!!
The PPP, on the other hand, speak simply but deliver what they promise: rescuing Guyana from PNC’s destruction and producing the best growth figures in the region – and money in everyone’s pockets.
Beware of the Mimic Men on the campaign trail!!
…when mout’ open!!
From all the way in England, Ramjattan finally blurted out to confirm what most people here in Guyana already knew: while there’s a possibility he may inherit the castrated Prime Ministership position created for Nagamootoo if the PNC were to “win” the elections (by rigging), and Granger were to step down, he doesn’t step into the presidential shoes!!
Now since this was an “open secret”, why did Granger and Ramjattan play so coy about it?? Well, we know the answer to that, don’t we?? These jokers think Guyanese are fools and want to still have us believe that they’re in a “coalition” – which means the PNC’s “sharing power”!! All that Ramjattan and the other coalition “partners” with the PNC are doing is to offer the latter a fig leaf for their excesses. We know that Ramjattan has supported Granger’s authoritarian moves from Patterson’s appointment to the sugar estates closure.
Could he mention a single policy the AFC championed being supported by the PNC??
Constitutional change, anyone?!!
…and no teeth
Of what use is even the weakened Local Content Policy (LCP) when there’s no legislation in place to enforce the few stipulations that may benefit Guyanese??
Look where counting on “good faith” got us on the oil contract!!
